SIUE Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony For Golf Training Facility

Published on June 21 2013 6:49 am
Last Updated on June 21 2013 6:49 am
Written by Millie Lange

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, June 24, at 11 a.m. for an indoor Golf Training Facility. Pending final approval from the SIU Board of Trustees, the facility will be named for longtime SIUE coach and supporter Harry Gallatin.

The ceremony will take place at the proposed site of the training facility, adjacent to Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex (5200 New Poag Rd.) on the SIUE campus.

Dignitaries scheduled to attend the ceremony include: Dr. Julie Furst-Bowe, SIUE Chancellor; Dr. Bradley Hewitt, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics; Gary Collins, Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics; John Simmons, Chairman, the Simmons Law Firm, 1991 SIUE alumnus and major donor for the project; and Gallatin also a major donor for the project.

Gallatin, primarily known as a professional basketball player and coach, became SIUE’s first director of intercollegiate athletics and men’s basketball coach in 1967. He served as the Cougars’ men’s golf coach for 24 seasons. Coach Gallatin led his team to the NCAA Division II championships 19 times, finishing six times in the top 10.

Gallatin, a member of the health, recreation and physical education department at SIUE before retiring in 1992, has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame and several other Halls of Fame.